2 GliACE K. COOl.KV OX 



My own iiiici'uflieinical studies would lead to the inference, that the reserve 

 material of the seeds of Liliaceae is, in some cases at least, a complex body, and, until 

 we understand its chemical nature better, it is more convenient for botanists to 

 employ a term which shall not entangle them in chemical difficulties. Hence, in 

 this work, reserve cellulose is the material stored on the walls of the endosperm 

 cells, which is to be distinguished from the original membrane, and which is used 

 up during germination. 



The unfailing chemical characteristic of the reserve cellulose, of all the seeds 

 examined, is its easy solubility with hot, weak, mineral acids; a characteristic which 

 points to the conclusion that the reserve cellulose of the Liliaceae is Schulze's hemi- 

 cellulose. 



The methods of microchemical research are as yet too crude to follow exactly, 

 under the microscoi)e, the history of a substance like reserve cellulose, fi'om the time 

 of its appearance in the seed, until it finally disappears during germination; but it 

 cannot be without good results to investigate and record such phenomena as are 

 open to us, and I have, under the advice and suggestion of Professor Dodel and Dr. 

 Overton, attemi)ted the present work, in the hope of opening up the subject, by a 

 general review of the main facts, to more minute study. 



I shall first speak of the distribution of reserve cellulose in the Liliaceae and 

 some allied orders, describing its general appearance. In the second part of the 

 work, I have sought to point out the behavior of the substance in the presence of 

 microchemical tests. Following this, is the history of reserve cellulose during the 

 germination of the seed; and, lastly, its origin and growth in the ripening seed are 

 described. 



t 



The Occurrence of Reserve Cellulose in the Seeds of Liliaceae and related 



Orders. 



• 



The seeds of Liliaceae belong to that class of monocotyledonous seeds which are 

 furnished with a large endosperm and a comparatively small embryo. The endo- 

 sperm consists, in inany species, of cells with thick walls, the thickening being pro- 

 duced, as I hope later to show, by a substance which is laid down as a secondary 

 structure during the ripening of the seed, and which is used up during the period of 

 o-ermination as nourishment for the vouu"- plant. This reserve material, to which I 

 have applied the term reserve cellulose, has been found in the endosperm of the ripe 

 seeds of the twenty-two genera of Liliaceae which I have examined. It is also found 

 to occur in two genera of Amaryllidaceae and in four of Iridaceae. 



